Cta Aims To Move Homeless To Shelters

April 10, 2000|By Noah Isackson, Tribune Staff Writer.

On the pocket of her jacket is a three-inch slash, a mark left by thieves who are known to use razorblades to loosen money from people's clothing, often as they sleep. Still, she says: "It's safer on the trains than in the shelter."

For weeks, Benson's concern over the new program had her considering moving to a tent in a forest preserve.

But a recent visit with Vargas and his outreach team at the Howard station has softened her to the idea of allowing someone to help her. Perhaps most convincing was social worker Lora Franklin, who said Benson didn't have to go to a shelter and could instead enter an affordable housing program.

Among many riders, shelters seem to be a dreaded last resort.

Some recalled shelters that were too crowded to accommodate them or shelter curfews that prevented them from staying the night and keeping their day job. Others said they have stayed away since catching illnesses ranging from a cold to tuberculosis.

The changes that the CTA's new program may bring have been discussed up and down the train lines--in a community where advice and information about the trains is appreciated nearly as much as a CTA fare card.

"When I heard about the violence that had occurred, I knew it was going to bring changes," said Regina Jones, 48, who became homeless when she separated from her husband four months ago. "I think we all knew."

Addressing those concerns is central to the mission of the new outreach program, said Human Services Commissioner Ray Vasquez.

"This is not a clearing away of the homeless," Vasquez said. "We will go in with a lot of compassion and understanding."

To that end, trained Human Services workers will be the first to approach homeless people on the trains. Police who have undergone "sensitivity training" will be called only if a situation gets out of hand or illegal activity occurs, Vasquez said.

In announcing the program on March 6, Chicago Police Supt. Terry Hillard stressed that "it is not against the law to be homeless" and said the focus of the program is not to rid the trains of homeless people who have paid fares or pressure them into accepting help.

But, by law, police are given a fair amount of room to enforce city ordinances which prohibit sleeping on trains, riding back and forth on the same line, causing a disturbance, and smoking. Passengers who violate the rules can be removed from the trains, ticketed or arrested.

Leaning against the turnstiles at the Clark and Division subway station, Claude Pickett considered a fellow rider's report that social service workers were spotted at the northern end of the late-night Red Line.

He called such efforts "a blessing" but not one he was interested in.

"For three years, I used the CTA to survive," Pickett said. "And if it comes to a halt I'll find another way."

Smiling gently, Pickett then paid his fare and headed south toward 95th Street, in the direction where he hoped to find only the end of the line.